Tuesday, October 30, 2007

'D' day

Today was the first day that i've really taken a huge step towards getting to be a healthier me. As most of you with PCOS know it's soooo difficult to lose weight, to stay with it when you want to give up because one week you lose 2 pounds and the next week you'll gain three, etc.

Lately in the afternoon I've been experiencing little crashes even when i've eaten very healthy. For me this is scary as it's an indicator that internally organs are not working properly again. Acne is on the increase again and other PCOS symptoms are flaring up.

Firstly, i'm on something to force a period.....yes any men who are reading this, the dreaded PERIOD! LOL

Secondly, a new regimen of medications to try together and get the PCOS symptoms under control and this should help with motivation, focus and most importantly energy for working out which equals weight loss.

I dreaded going to the Dr. even though he's been wonderful. It's just another reminder of what I have and if I didn't then there would be no need to be seeing him so often. I knew it would be more bloodwork, ultrasounds and other tests. It's best to get them out of the way and to be prepared for whatever is going on and work to make an improvement.

So today is one step closer to a better me tomorrow. Jenny, do you have room for one more?

Saturday, October 27, 2007

A Much overdue ..

THANK YOU!!

This is to all of you who participated in the puppy shower for Quade/Rio. I want to thank
Shari and all involved in throwing this wonderful surprise and boy was I surprised, lol!!

The night before we had a luau at the house and I knew
Shari and the kids and Laura were going to stop by on Sunday to help clean up the leftovers. Well Shari calls me Sunday morning and we're chit chatting and she says "We'll be over soon, have you had your shower?" I told her no I hadn't and she says "Well hurry up and have your shower, we'll be there around 12"
I'm thinking to myself "
Shari never tells me to have a shower, she's seen me looking pretty scary in the mornings, lol." We chat a bit more and she says "Well you better hurry up and have your shower." Now i'm getting a complex thinking, "I'm a big girl but do I really smell THAT bad?" LOL
I don't even know if i'd gotten into the shower when the phone rings again and it's Laura saying she was coming down and could I put on some coffee too cuz she really likes my percolated coffee. K, now any of you who know us know that Laura and Hal like weaker coffee and I like it strong...this should have been a tip off that something else was afoot but did I clue in....NO!!!

I was all showered and dressed very casually (like a bum), coffee was on and I had tidied up the kitchen from the night before. I just sit down on the couch to check email when I hear a vehicle pull up and hear Jenny and
Shari talking, could hear the kids, then I hear Laura and i'm thinking "Oh good, there here this is going to be a nice little visit."
Then
Shari says "Oh Pen, can you come and get the door?" Now i'm thinking to myself there's Jenny, Laura and the boys all out there and one of them can't get the door...but no biggie get up and go around the corner and down my driveway is a stream of people, balloons, gift bags and goodies!!!! I was stunned and all I could say was "No, i'm not coming down there!" LOL.

Quade was spoiled rotten with all the wonderful treats, new bowl, visi vests for him and Cleo AND stuffed toys with squeakers that he loves, a Kong and peanut butter stuffing, a flashing safety collar, flashers for everyone with dogs, homemade dog cookies for goodie bags treats, treats and more treats; did I say treats already? LOL Brenda even brought a Pinata and Quade even got a Devil Costume!! Everyone pitched in and bought us a big bag of dog food too. I’m so blown away still.
It's been a couple of weeks and they haven't even put a dent in the dog treats.
Shari also bought a great little book to keep photographs, medical records, paperwork, etc. It's going to come in very handy.

I feel as though those two words don't even begin to cover how much it meant and to have everyone back to the house after the luau the night before. So from my whole heart I want so say how blessed I am to have such wonderful, caring, thoughtful friends.

Thank you
Shari and kids, Laura, Jenny and boys, Michelle and Sara, Gloria and Sam, Nancy, Brenda, Marion, Sue, Tasha, Torey and Rita. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone and this is something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

Hugs and love to each one of you for this from all of us!


Here's the guest of honour Satan, I mean Rio...oh right Quade


Cleo checking out the bag to see what other surprises are in there and if she can sneak a cookie!

Ms. Kali Joy thinking "oooh, he'll never miss this one!"


Kali and the boys plotting to get the goods, lol


Hal arriving home at lunch...he thought we were still continuing on from the night before, lol.

Hal was surprised as I was about the whole thing AND the stash of goodies you see behind Hal.


Laura and Parker

Gavin and Jonas
Michelle and Quade


Gloria and Quade - Gloria herself is the proud owner of a beautiful boy Dozer...he's massive! It's exciting and scary to know that Quade will be that big one day too.


Tasha and Torey such a sweet picture!


Sue loving up my girl Cleo with Seamus and Kali in the background.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

MEAL PLAN MONDAY

Hello all,
This week will have a couple of meals from last week as we didn't have them and i've got all the food for them:

Roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots and yorkshires (Yorkshire is a pastry like cup that you bake in the oven quickly on a high heat and then fill with gravy..or that's what we do)

Swedish Meatballs, rice and garden salad

Vegetarian lasagne, ceasar salad and garlic toast

Homemade potato, corn chowder soup with biscuits

Pork kabobs, rice and veggie stir fry

Foil chicken - I've got to go surfing on line for this recipe unless someone has one they'd suggest.

Looking forward to reading some other menu plans for inspiration and variety.
Bon apetit!


Thursday, October 18, 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNY!!!!

Hope your day was as wonderful as you are!
Here's to a great year ahead and many years of friendship as well.

Birthday hugs and a whole lotta love!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Meal Plan Monday



This week in no particular order:

Greek Salad, Chicken souvlaki, rice and pita
Roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots and yorkshires
Pork Stir fry and chow mein
Gramma's Swedish meatballs, rice and brown beans
Shake n' bake chicken, spaghetti and ceasar salad
Garden Salad, steak and garlic roasted potatoes

Multi purpose pets!


This is what happens when you've really got to go to the bathroom in the middle of loading the dishwasher! I could hear a clank sound and thought "No way!" Sure enough I come out of the bathroom and this is what I witness, lol. He has another purpose too I guess for those who need wood chips. I wonder why the little guy doesn't get splinters in his butt!

Now, not to forget Cleo as she has her own purpose too. She's the official clean up girl after their cookies and dinner, plus she makes a great workout companion for Quade as well. I'll try to get it on video when they chase each other around the coffee table.

I haven't dont one of these in a long time, took it from Lucy who took it from Joni!

Two Names You Go By: Pen or Penny
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: Jeans and a tshirt
Two of Your Favorite Things to do: Hang with friends and surf the net
Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment: Money in the bank and a new car **Ditto to what Lucy said!
Two pets you had/have: Cleo and Willow
Two things you did last night: Took Quade out to do his business and make coffee
Two things you have eaten today: A bun and pepperoni stick
Two people you Last Talked To: Do Cleo and Quade count? lol
Two Things You're doing tomorrow: Working and shopping
What were your longest car rides: Cross Canada trek many times as a kid and then to Alberta in '97 on a holiday
Favorite Holidays: Christmas and CHRISTMAS!!
Two favorite beverages: Water and Tea/Coffee

those are my twos...what are yours?


Saturday, October 13, 2007

Adventures in Puppydom!

As most of you who read my blog know we have added to our family. What an amazing adventure this has been with many SURPRISES along the way - RIGHT LADIES?!?! You know who you are, lol.

From the previous post you know we picked up Quade September 29 on a whirlwind weekend. That Saturday we had plans to go to the BC Lions game and for dinner so Quade was watched very lovingly by his Uncle Curt, Auntie Lori and Cousins Nelson and Ashley. We knew he was going to be very well taken care of until we got home from the game.

That turned out to be 1:00 a.m. and Quade (then Rio) was sound asleep by Uncle Curt. Curt headed to bed and Hal had a few drinks under his belt and was feeling no pain so he headed straight to bed too. Guess that left moi to take care of POOPsie. Poor little bugger had an upset tummy from the stress of being taken away from his Mom and siblings to a new place with lots of new people. He was trained really well to use paper so we put some down in the guest room. We put him in his crate but he freaked out so thought we'd let him settle down on the blanket by the bed. I heard him get up and head to the paper then a serious wet fart happened and Quade was whimpering. Turned on the light and sure enough he was on the paper but his ass was at the edge and man oh man did he shoot a straight line of the smelliest, runniest poo. I did my best to clean it up without waking anyone in the house.

I put him back in his crate and once again he wigged out. Here I am at 2:00 a.m. quietly banging his crate against three walls, lol as we headed downstairs where the doors could be closed and he wouldn't keep anyone awake. Once again in the crate and thought I'd better just leave him in there to settle himself down. WELL Quade had other ideas and really was putting on a show so I took him outside and sure enough he had to do business again. By now i'm tired, trying to be understanding of this cute little bundle of stress mess but dammit I was getting BITCHY AND IT WAS 4:00 A.M.!

Time to show some tough love....in the crate he went, turned off the lights and he howled like a little wolf cub, barked and then whined but was settling. He then let out this little sigh, a small whimper and melted my heart as I had put my fingers in the crate and he gave the gentlest little licks.

We got a total of three hours sleep that night as Quade had more tummy troubles and was wide awake by 7:00 a.m. Lori was a sweetheart and came outside with a hot cup of coffee for me while I waited for his tummy to settle and it would be safe to bring him back inside.

The morning was relatively quiet until Hal called Hawkair and they told us that the pup could absolutely NOT go in cargo and the flight was booked so we would have to make alternate arrangements. We were stressed big time!!! I had booked through a wonderful lady named Diane at Hawkair and said to Hal that we would call her and find out what we could do as she told us that he would be able to go on the flight home with us. The weather had turned though that weekend and it was really chilly. We were ready to cancel our flights, extend the rental on the car and start driving. I called Diane and told her what the other lady had said. She asked if we still had the softsided carrier and we said yes. She told us not to worry that our pup would not only be on the flight with us but he would actually be in the cabin, not cargo. We were elated!! She and the Breeder suggested Gravol so he would be a bit woozy for the flight and it would be less stressful, that half a gravol would knock him out for about 4 hours....YEAH ON WHO'S PLANET, LOL.

The staff at the South Terminal are amazing! They allowed Quade to roam around the airport, getting loves, having photo ops and just being a ham. On the flight home he slept for the first hour and then we heard him give a whimper. Uh oh, what were we going to do if he put on the sirens now? Our flight attendant was a sweetheart too. She says "I hear our little celebrity, you guys can get him out you know." We thanked her for that but said we'd rather he stay put so as not to upset the other travellers. She said "Well as your flight attendant i'm telling you to take him out because i'm going up front to get him some water and then i'm coming back for some puppy kisses!" We had a good chuckle and sure enough she was back pronto. He had a drink and then she got him for some snuggles. Next thing we knew our pup was MIA as he was passed around the plane for lots of snuggles from the other passengers....AND WE WERE WORRIED the passengers would be upset, lol.

Quade went back into his crate with no problems and was an absolute doll all the way home in the truck. He loves to travel and we hope he stays that way.

More to come in another blog.....Wow, don't post for awhile and then verbal/typo diarrhea happens or is that some freedom from Satan the psycho dog?

Call me 'Windbag"

Ahh, it's Saturday morning and i'm enjoying a hot cuppa Joe. The dishwasher is going and now i'm pondering what to do next...put in a load of laundry, vacuum, wash the dishes in the sink or make the bed. Guess what....NADA! I'm going to blog while i've got 20 minutes of peace and quiet. It was nice to sleep in until 7 a.m. this morning too although right now I feel as though a nap is in order, lol.

What an amazing whirlwind the last two weeks have been! And has it really only been two weeks cuz time has flown by but that could also be in part to how busy our social life has been and it's AWESOME!

Let's start off with our trip to Vancouver on September 28. I just love my hunny, he was a trooper. You have to know how much he hates shopping to get this, lol. We arrived in Vancouver on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. By the time we drove from the Airport to Port Coquitlam it was 8:15 and Coquitlam Centre closed at 9:00 p.m. Hal was in dire need of adding some new clothes to his wardrobe and let me tell you in less then 45 minutes we had him clothed, lol. He picked out two shirts and a pair of jeans and said he was going to try them on. Well while he was in the dressing room I picked him out two more pair of pants, a sweater and 5 shirts. He steps out of the dressing room for me to see how the jeans fit and most importantly how I liked his bum in the jeans, lol. He saw the stack of clothes and said "I don't have to try all of those on do I?" Told him no but that he should try on the sweater, a tshirt and the pants so we could see if the size had to be changed. One pair of the pants went back and we changed the size on the tshirts. We hit an amazing sale I tell you!! The clothes we picked out would have cost almost $400.00. Hal had $200.00 in Sears gift cards that the meat department won at work. He still has almost $40.00 on a card!!! We saved over half on the clothes he bought. This was all done in less then 45 minutes too...yay I love shopping!

We then scooted off to Maple Ridge to his brother's place to spend the night. We stayed up until almost 1 a.m. talking and catching up. 8 a.m. came way to early the next morning but we had lots to get done on Saturday. Up for coffee and breakfast, showers and hit the road for our busy day. First stop was at Marks WorkWearHouse for Hal to find some new winter boots. Again, amazing shopping. He saw a pair of boots that he really liked and they're nice and even better they were on sale too!

We picked up our boy Quade on September 29 (two weeks ago today). Saturday night after getting Quade (Rio) settled at Hal's brothers place we headed into Port Coquitlam to go for dinner and to the BC Lions vs Calgary Stampeders game. Dinner at Moxies was fantastic! OMG do they know how to cook a steak! Good food, great company and lots of laughs.

The game was a blow out. BC Lions rocked the house! I have to say it was odd watching a football game live as the field seemed so much smaller then it does on the tv screen. Although...I would probably drop dead running from one end of it to the other. The players looked really nice in their tight pants too, i'm a bum girl so appreciated the view!

We spent the second half of the game just socializing as it was clearly the Lions game. We were such rebels too Hal and I. Rhonda and Dennis had amazing seats and there were a lot of empty ones beside them so with a little ticket swapping we managed to sneak up and enjoy the view and company.

I DO NOT ENJOY THE TRAFFIC in the lower mainland. On Saturday Hal and I spent 7 hours of our day in traffic. This is going from Maple Ridge to Chilliwack, Chilliwack back to Maple Ridge. Maple Ridge to downtown Vancouver and then Vancouver back to Maple Ridge. It sounds like quite the distance but really wasn't, just waiting in traffice. It makes us appreciate the fact that it takes us 2 minutes to drive to work.

The weekend went by way to quickly but was a lot of fun to get away and enjoy time with family and friends.

Enough for this post....more to come.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Rio has had his name changed

Hi all,
Just getting ready to head to work but wanted to post that Rio has had to have his name changed as it was too close to Cleo and my poor girl was getting confused as all heck when we would correct Rio. His name has been changed to Quade and in all honesty seems to suit him and he also responds better to it.

I'll be back after work to post about this amazing weekend! All I can say is I love my friends you truly are the best and 'Thank You" doesn't even cover how much my heart is feeling.

Friday, October 5, 2007

I'm so tired!!

Please don't think i'm a whiner but holy christ am I ever old and this little furry bugger is tiring me out!! I know he's only a puppy and couldn't imagine how much a real child can wear you down. I love Rio to bits and am happy to have him but I WANT MY LIFE BACK!!! lmao.

This is the first time all week i've been able to get on and blog or for that matter catch up on everyone elses.

Here's my routine:

3:30 a.m. Rio outside to do his business
7:00 a.m. Shower, get Rio up and outside to do his business, feed him and Cleo, play with him and Cleo while getting ready for work, quickly eat something as I head out the door

8:20 a.m. Work

12:00 p.m. Catch the bus home, get Rio out to do his business, feed him, play with him and Cleo while I try to get some lunch myself.

12:40 p.m. Catch the bus back to work

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Work

5:15 p.m. Catch the bus home

5:20 p.m. Home, let Rio out to do his business, feed him, take him and Cleo out for their walk and to do the great sniffy, sightseeing and lately puddle jumping.

6:20 p.m. Back home to make dinner while keeping Satan....errr Rio out of stuff. I tell ya, when you think you've puppy proofed he proves ya wrong. This little guy goes none stop and is like a little Tasmanian Devil (Laura knows first hand how he gets wound up)

7:15 p.m. Dinner time usually, Rio goes into his crate while we eat (still working on Cleo in this department and really wish we had crate trained her earlier, we are looking to buy another large crate for her too)

7:45 Dinner is over and clean up of Kitchen begins.

8:15 Kitchen is clean, wake Rio up and back outside for another walk with Cleo then to the back yard for playtime.

9:00 p.m. In the house to try and get 10 minutes of peace while the two dogs play chase around the downstairs and Cleo does her best to put Rio in his place.

10:00 p.m. BED!!

That's my life and as much as I love the puppy stage the month of December is looking really challenging, lol. Can I have Christmas at someone else's house?? I'll decorate it and everything cuz this year Momma ain't putting much out cuz there's a little Taz living in the house and I just can't see my pretty things zipping around the house in the Devil's mouth.

10:40 p.m and Cinderella's turning into a pumpkin.... G'night all!

PS Luau at my house tomorrow...not sure how it's gonna go as it's looking like an indoor thing now....LIMBO IN THE LIVING ROOM!


Monday, October 1, 2007

We're home and I think we brought the Devil with us!!!

OMG....WHAT THE HECK HAVE WE DONE!!!! Hal and I have our cute little bundle of pure HELL!



We picked him up Saturday afternoon from the breeders, spent an hour and a half filling out paper work, asking questions and just visiting. I have to say he's adorable, his little sister is a complete doll with the cutest little face.

That afternoon we went back to Hal's brothers place and hung there for a bit then took off for the game while they babysat little Rio. We arrived back there around 1:30 a.m. and Rio was sound asleep. We thought "Great, we'll put him out for a potty break and he'll just go back to sleep." BOY WERE WE WRONG! Hal had a few beers and a couple of other beverages so he was done and went to bed. Let's just say at 4:00 a.m. I was ready to sell my little bundle of fur to the Asian farmers market!! He was no where near ready for a sleep. I then did what I should have just done 2 hours before I took Rio, the crate, myself and a book downstairs, stuck him in the crate, read a few pages while he really had a spaz then I turned out the light, rolled over and went to sleep while he growled, howled, groaned and whimpered. It sounds like it went on for hours at that point but the little shit was asleep by 4:10 a.m.

At 7:30 a.m. my precious little fur baby woke me up flipping out so I knew he had to do his business. After that there was no way he was going back to sleep so Lori being a sweetheart brought me a hot cup of coffee outside whilst 'Satan' ran around doing his business and playing with Nelson.

I'll be back to finish in a bit.....he's pulling at the laptop cord and needing to go back outside...

Back and it's 10:46, guess what.....it worked. Rio was falling asleep at 10 so we took him outside to play for a bit and he kept laying down on the grass to go to sleep. Brought him in, let him have a really small drink, popped him in his crate and voila...one snoring, sleepin' little pup. Hal's a night owl so he said if Rio wakes up when he comes to bed he'll take him to do his business then put him right back in his crate so he gets his days and nights straightened out.

As Shari says, "He's a little Spitfire!" Cleo actually let him drink out of the water bowl with her tonight and is being a little more tolerant of him once he was played out. We know they'll soon be best buds but for now it's really close supervision.

G'night all, i'm off to dreamland!